Stained
by Mystrivin
Summary: AU. Time-travel. Konoha has been at war for several years. Things aren’t looking up, and when the Sound succeeds in invading Konoha, Orochimaru goes all out. In response, Naruto and Sasuke send one person back in time. And it’s not Naruto.
1. What is Stained

Mystrivin: I have a couple of notes to give. I will not be finishing this fanfiction. I don't have the time. But I _do _like the way it starts. Which is why I'm posting it up. It's short, only 2,000 words or so. In any case, I do not own Naruto, so you lovely lawyers can go away. Besides, I'm a college student, so I don't have much money anyway. Other than that, enjoy the fiction.

Full Summary: Konoha and its allies have been at war for several years. Things aren't looking up, and when the Sound manages to succeed in invading Konoha, Orochimaru goes all out. In response, Naruto and Sasuke do their best, but in the end decide to gamble all their lives on a single bet. Time. They send one person back in time. And it's not Naruto.

**Chapter 1: What is Stained (cannot be cleansed)**

The sky was stained. It was no longer its azure hue. I don't remember the last time when it was. It was stained the color of a leaking heart. The clouds overhead only made the sky seem both black and red, reminding me of the Akatsuki. The ceiling above me had a hole. A large, jagged one at that.

_Boom!_

The ground quivered. It was far away. I was half-dying. The rest around me were already dead. Some allies, some enemies. I coughed, blood trickling over my lip and down my chin. I was trying to stay awake. One step. Just one step at a time. My hand was held over my wound, a slight green glow gathered there. I was making due with whatever chakra I had left. Not much at all. My other hand slid along the wall, providing me support.

Another explosion, another shake, another bunch of debris falling down on me.

Lovely.

I didn't even have the energy to shake off the dust. I just had to keep walking. Naruto and Sasuke were waiting for me at the end of this hallway, I was sure of it, if the dead bodies of the enemy nin were any evidence. They sounded urgent to me as they passed me earlier, when I was in the battle as a medical field ninja. They were part of the front lines, for them to come back meant that things weren't looking up. I had been hit as I was trying to get back, a trip of wire and explosion. I didn't know what they were up to, calling me back to the Hokage Tower, but I hope they have a way to defeat the Sound once and for all. I reached the doorway to the office. Even in my state, I could sense the immense amount of chakra in the room.

Well, here's for hoping.

I opened the smooth, mahogany door with my free hand and what I saw made my heart stop. Kanji, written in blood and ink, ink and chakra, were written in such a way that formed an even larger kanji, one so old and complex that even I, the bookworm, couldn't tell what it was. To the sides, and to their credit, Naruto and Sasuke were kneeling, sweat coated on them, blood of enemies clinging on to their battle outfits in intricate patterns. I could tell they were exhausted, chakra exhaustion, insomnia, and dehydration were among the things that plagued them. They looked even worse than me. Naruto flashed me his trademark grin and Sasuke barely nodded his head in acknowledgement. I stumbled in, trying very hard not to touch the kanji they had so painstakingly written. I managed a weak smile.

"The Hokage's office huh? Brings back memories..." I trailed. Memories that were both good and bad.

"Yeah..." Naruto said hoarsely.

Sasuke just made his was over, pushing me (none too gently) to the center of the kanji, where I noticed there was a small circle written in a dark blue ink.

"Uh..." I began unsteadily, confused.

"Sakura-chan, sit. Please." Naruto mumbled tiredly.

I sat as instructed, even more confused than before. With the amount of chakra in the room, somehow, I felt like I had more energy. If only barely. "What's... Going on?"

"Things are bad." Sasuke grunted, making his way back to my left. Naruto was still kneeling at my right.

"What teme means to say is: we can't handle it. It's too much. Orochimaru has found an eternal body that can't be destroyed. Not by usual means, anyway." He looked at me uncertainly before continuing on, "I don't really have time to explain, but we're trying to send you back into the past. The seal itself takes a lot of chakra, not to mention the part where when you send yourself pack, it takes even more. Also, with previous attempts, all of them have ended in failure. In short, the people died. So, we're making a lot of gamble on this, hoping against hope that this will work."

"Wait. Why can't Sasuke go? Or even you, Naruto? You would make more of a difference than I would." It didn't make sense. Even when we were young and in a genin team, they were far ahead of me, even with my high chakra control. It didn't make any sense at all, and by the way they were looking at me and at each other, this was their desperate attempt to make something right. My breath became shallower, quicker. My plams were sweaty. My eyes dilated. I was panicking now.

He shook his head. Sasuke took his chance to speak.

"The seal is written to be attuned to only one person; in this case, you. Dobe and I made sure of that. As to why? Well, let's just say that it's a hunch. A very good one. With the amount of chakra we both have, it should be enough to send you back. If you want more info, look it up later." He smiled.

Then it hit me. They were sacrificing themselves. For me? No, not for me, for Konoha. Their love for Konoha would drive them to the depths of hell and back to find a way to save it. Any future was better than this one. Even the smallest act that was different, carefully said words, a smile, would make all the difference in the world. You didn't need to be a god to change history. Just heart. And they trusted me to do the best that I could with all of my heart, making sure that this future doesn't happen. Tears blurred my vision.

I nodded, not trusting myself enough to speak.

"Let's do it."

For a split second, we all shared the same smile. Then there was another explosion and shake, this time closer. Then our smile wavered. Naruto and Sasuke nodded simultaneously. It was time. I closed my eyes, clearing my mind and focusing on only one thing: the past. Memories filtered through my consciousness, recent ones, old ones, Kakashi being late, Kakashi dying, Tsunade dying, asking Sasuke for a date, Sasuke leaving for Orochimaru, Sasuke coming back by way of Naruto, scarred, my eighth birthday, when my parents told me that I was enrolled into the Academy, my first kunai, Ino and Shikamaru, who knew they'd get together? Shikamaru's death, Ino's death, a child still within her. My days at the academy, even farther back then I even remembered knowing, my first steps, my first words. I was vaguely aware of the rising levels of chakra to my left and right, Sasuke's and Naruto's. Then, there was nothing.

---

"Well? Do you think we should let them do it?" A voice asked. A lighter, child-like voice.

"Hm... Considering they _technically_ did the seal right, and because that… _thing_ wasn't supposed to gain an eternal body..." Gruff and low, rumbling.

"I see. Well then, count on Naruto to make the biggest mistakes turn into the most brilliant solutions." Regal and with authority, mellow.

They all laughed. When they quieted, the regal voice spoke again.

"Looks like we've come to a decision. Haruno Sakura will go back in time."

Then, there was nothing.

---

For a second after the seal was activated, Sakura's body went rigid. Then it relaxed, slumping over. Sasuke and Naruto were panting heavily, wondering the same thought: Did it work? Naruto was the first to speak.

"So... What do you think?"

Sasuke didn't reply, instead, he staggered his way over to her, shaking her. She wasn't responding. Something wasn't right. This feeing of... _Wrongness _- there was no other words to describe it - wasn't a good sign. Dread. Was that it? It wasn't a good feeling. It was clammy, numbing, and... sticky. Naruto felt Dread grow from his stomach and reach out to his limbs. He was soon beside her as well, trying whatever he could to wake her. At first he started with the standard "Wake up!" then proceeded to more extreme measures.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke agreed to go on a date with you!" And here, Sasuke glared at him, "Um... If you don't wake up, I'm going to kiss you!" They waited patiently for a response of any kind.

She opened her eyes.

They were blank. Soulless.

Both of them were shocked. Naruto was the first to recover.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! I think I just killed Sakura-chan!" He cried, grabbing his hair with both hands, eyes wide with fear.

Sasuke, on the other hand, decided to keep his head cool, mind going a mile a second, examining the seal that they drew. He checked his side of the kanji. Everything was fine. He looked at Naruto's side. It was fine. No, wait, it wasn't. Amongst Naruto's mass of scribbles, there was a mistake on one of the lines of kanji. Shuffling over, ignoring the freaking blond, he knelt down and examined the line. His lips gave the impression of a line. A very _thin _line. If possible, he might have said that his face became fractionally paler. He turned to Naruto.

"Naruto." He called.

"Something must have went wrong!" He was rambling, looking almost mad. Sasuke rolled his eyes. He didn't think that she was gone. Not quite at least. It was a mistake, yes, but he would think about it later. "_I_ must have done something horribly wrong! It's all my fault!" He was bordering on tears now.

"Naruto!" He yelled, grabbing Naruto's shoulders. Watery blue eyes stared at solid black ones.

"Look." He pointed at the line of kanji. And look the blue eyes did.

There, on the complex kanji, was a repeated line. It was a repeat of the line next to it, which was an instruction tying the soul to itself, rather than the soul to the body in order to send it back. Naruto was in shock. He _knew_ he did something wrong and proceeded to freak out. Only this time, ten times worse. Tuning him out, Sasuke looked on, examining the seal and how the repeated line would change it. Then the genius realized something. He smiled. A true, genuine smile. One that the fangirls of the past would have scrambled over themselves to see. He grabbed the blonds' head and turned it to look at the repeated line of kanji.

"Naruto, only you would be able to make a mistake like this turn into a solution." Unwittingly repeating something said by another being.

"Huh?" He asked intelligently. Sasuke made a great effort to ignore the urge to whack the blond upside the head.

"Look." He repeated, "We copied the seal as it was first made, along with some changes, as would be expected with time. However, every seal that was made before tied the soul to the body, and the seal was sending the body back in time. By some kind of law, I guess you can't send a something material through time, which is why previous attempts failed. You remember how it was described, they turned into a bloody mess. But the soul is immaterial. It _can_ be sent back in time without being hurt. Which means..."

Naruto's eyes widened on the realization. "It... Worked?"

Sasuke looked at him, the smile still on his face. "Yep."

With a bang, the doors opened by shattering. Standing in the doorway was the ever _beautiful_ Orochimaru. Which meant dead ugly. For one, the immortal body he took was a girl, and Orochimaru's face on a girl's body was just... Wrong. The two shuddered collectively, then took their stand. Millions of Sound ninja against the two remaining Konoha ninjas. And then there was Orochimaru to deal with.

A crackling laugh, hissing words. "Why _children_, how nice to see you again." Orochimaru.

"You're too late Orochimaru." Naruto.

"We've succeeded in what we intended to do." Sasuke. The background was changing, it swirled and warped, colors blending together. "Even now, what we have done has changed this future. See? Even Naruto and I are changing." Indeed they were, they too were now simply colors that were warping and swirling. Orochimaru had the grace to look shocked. The two pseudo-brothers grinned.

"See you in the past, ass-face." Naruto... Or was it Sasuke?

Then, there was nothing.


	2. A Falling Interlude

Mystrivin: Well, here is an interlude as I think about where I want her to go in the past, how I want things changed, etc. Obviously, this is going to be AU, as the "cannon" I'm using is going to be different, which will be mentioned by these lovely memories. I realize that some of it is repetitive, especially at the end... Please bear with me. I'm not a very good writer and I'm working on it. Oh, and it's half the size of the last chapter. Critiques and reviews of all kinds are appreciated.

**Chapter 2: A Falling Interlude (Somewhere between up and down)  
**

In the sensation of falling, she opened her eyes. Floating images rose slowly past her. They were moving pictures, as if she was watching all of her memories simultaneously on separate screens, swirling and rising from behind. The way the air moved about her gave her the impression that she was falling, yet the way the pictures simply drifted away made her feel as if she was floating down. There, the memories.

_"Kakashi-sensei!" I cried._

_He stood above me, a pike skewering him. Blood fell like water. He turned his only visible eye toward me, smiling._

_"I told you. I will protect my team... With my life..."_

_He fell.  
_  
Flash.

_"Stupid brat! Making me late to my own war meeting." Jaraiya shouted as we jumped roofs. I was told to fetch him when we realized that Jaraiya was being held up._

_I giggled. So like Naruto._

Flash.

_I was working on patients in the infirmary tent, they didn't look good. There was too much blood being lost and not enough medical ninjas. Oh, how I wished that there were more trained to be medical ninja. If only I could have convinced a Hyuuga like Hinata to study medicine. But now, it's too late._

_"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" Naruto rushed in, looking distressed, tears clearly treatening to fall. "Tsunade-baasan! She's... She's..." I didn't even let him finish the sentence, I rushed out._

_That was the day I found out that Tsunade had died.  
_  
Flash.

_I was waiting at the gate. Naruto promised me he would take him back, even if he had to use force._

_I knew he would bring him back. He promised me. I even knew that he would give his life to fulfill it. Even though he failed back when we were both gennin, and again as we were chuunin, I knew._

_It was fact._

_Sasuke would come back to me. Back to us._

_Maybe he will be Naruto's brother._

Flash.

_"Hey, are you hurt?" Naruto asked. I had just finished an intense training session with Tsunade. But she said something that hurt me. It was about Sasuke._

_I shook my head pitifully and said no._

_Naruto didn't need to know my problems, he had enough of his own already._

Flash.

_"Ne... Sakura-chan. I have something I need to tell you. Especially since we are teammates." He looked serious. I've never seen him this serious before._

_"Yes, Naruto-kun?"_

_That was the day I found out that Naruto was actually the container of the Kyuubi. It shocked me, of course, but strengthened our friendship. I knew he loved me, but I had no room in my heart to look at him like that. But, I had room enough for a brother. A blond, loud, idiot one. I smiled softly._

Flash.

_The Godaime was standing on the platform, using it as a podium to address her people. I stood behind her with Shizune, since we were both her apprentices._

_"Today, the Sound has displayed an act of agression." She was nearing the end of her speech. It was time. "Today, we will have peace. Tomorrow, we will be at war."_

_The sound was something to really listen to. A sound that should never be heard. The sound of cheering declaring war.  
_  
Flash.

_Relief flooded over me as we confirmed that he was dead. We did it. Together. As a team. I looked on at Sai and Naruto, they both had a smile on them. I smiled back._

_"We did it. We defeat them."_

_Akatsuki._

Flash.

_I was assisting Naruto in his battle against this Akatsuki member, one who looked so much like Sasuke. He was fast, but Naruto would win. I knew he would win. I knew that _we_, as a team, would win. I pursed my lips into a thin line and glanced at Sai, then Naruto._

_Nodding, Naruto looked at me and Sai briefly. "Let's do it."_

Flash.

_Kakashi was lying on the hospital bed, his usual orange book in hand. How many times has he read it now? Nevermind, I don't want to know._

_"Naruto-kun, tomorrow, we will start your special training."_

_I hope Naruto improves because of this. I hope we can save Sasuke because of this. We must become stronger. The both of us.  
_

Flash.

_I was at the gate with Naruto. He was leaving and it was kind of bittersweet._

_"Train hard, Sakura-chan!" He yelled, waving his whole arm in the air as he walked backwards over the hill with his sensei._

_"I will! You better not slack off!"_

The memories came faster now. Almost as if they were rushing to the end.

Flash.

_Naruto really did it. He beat Neji._

Flash.

_Ne... Naruto, that looks like something that Sasuke did. Copying my love's moves! What an insult!_

Flash.

_Naruto looked different, he had red eyes, fangs, claws. He was holding the snake summon back._

_"Ne... You alright? Scardey-cat?" He mocked Sasuke._

Flash.

_With a poof of smoke, our sensei finally appeared. I don't know why we even bother to wait for him. But it does provide me with alone time with... Sasuke... kun. -blush-  
_  
Flash.

_Argh! Why am I on the same team as that idiot? He's so... Annoying!_

Flash.

_"Sakura-chan," Mom said, giving me a kind smile. "We've enrolled you into the Academy."_

_I swelled of pride until I felt I would burst.  
_  
Flash.

_"Look! She's walking!"_

Flash.

_"...'Ga-san."_

_"She said my name..." Mom looked so happy._

Flash.

_"What shall we call her?" He asked._

_"Sakura." She whispered.  
_  
Flash.

The memories floated away from her, passing her by and spiraling upwards into the darkness. Now, she felt like she was truly floating instead of falling and pretending to float. While in midair, some unknown force uprighted her. There was something solid supporting her. Was it ground? Stepping forward, she peered into the darkness, turning this way and that.

"... He - Hello?" She asked the darkness hesitantly. Her light voice echoed.

She looked around.

Nothing was there.

Nothing but her.


End file.
